According to government data, at least five fires continue to burn in the country; two of them are in La Paz, another pair in Santa Cruz and one in Beni, making air pollution unhealthy and even harmful for people, especially those suffering from People with underlying respiratory illness or the elderly. Residents of Rurrenabaque and San Buenaventura have experienced an increase in cases of respiratory illnesses and conjunctivitis.
Nicolás Fernández, president of the San Buenaventura City Council, said in a statement: “Fires continue to hit the province and are spreading from the mountains towards water intakes and fresh water, which is a matter of concern to us. .” Interviewed by TV media…
The representative noted that firefighters continue to work on the scene with city crews performing mitigation efforts.
Another resident pointed out that they have been experiencing heavy smoke for more than two months. “Maybe many of us don’t realize that we are getting sick because it is more about our anxiety about losing our land.”
The pollution has affected cities such as La Paz, Santa Cruz and Cochabamba, with the air pollution index at high levels, sometimes exceeding 200 or even 300 points, and recently exceeding 100 again.
Until Friday, three La Paz municipalities had been affected by fires: Teoponte, San Buenaventura and Mapiri, but according to Civil Defense Undersecretary Juan Carlos Calvimontes It said one of the cities had been extinguished.
“Fires; two affected municipalities in Santa Cruz, two in La Paz and one in Beni. There are still fires in five municipalities, but none of them are serious,” the authorities said in time for Ensuring that in the department of La Paz, “the fire in Palos Blancos has been completely extinguished (…) We have a report about a fire in Mapiri, “We are working on the logistics so that a helicopter can go there on Monday The location (…) The fire is not serious and does not threaten the community, but the smoke will affect nearby towns. “
He explained that their work continues in San Buenaventura and Rurrenabaque; in the first city, extinguishing efforts are taking place in three areas: the community of Agua Dulce, where defensive fire breaks are being built , to prevent “small” fires from spreading to water sources. They are also conducting mitigation in the community of Caijene and in the El Brujo mountain range.
Likewise, in the Buena Vista community, firefighting efforts reportedly put the community at risk, but now they are supporting efforts to contain the fire.
healthy
Experts say cases of respiratory illnesses and conjunctivitis can occur due to thick smoke in these areas. In the city of San Buenaventura, for example, there has been an increase in such cases.
“From week 38 to week 43, there was an increase in cases (respiratory and conjunctivitis), but in week 45, it increased even more, that is, until yesterday (Friday) we were treating 17 to 20 cases a day, Not only in the district of San Buenaventura, but also in the districts of San José de Chiamonas and Tumupasa.” Mario Chacón, Health Manager of the San Buenaventura Hospital ) explained.
Additionally, he noted that people who go to fight fires or are near these locations can experience throat discomfort and irritation from inhaling hot smoke.
“It’s increased a lot this week, from one or two treatments a week that we generally know, to over 22, 25,” the doctor said.
question
In light of the lack of support action and due to the fires in Madidi and Pilon Lajas parks, members of the Somos Pueblo council announced that they will question the governor of La Paz, Santos Quispe, for his failure to take action to mitigate this Fires in two protected areas. area.
“Last Friday we sent a request for a written report to check which companies had been hired and what services and support were provided because the only documents we received were those asking for help, for example when water tanks, wells were damaged blankets, pillboxes, shovels, etc. Water etc. are needed and Mr. Santos Quispe has really done nothing and we do not rule out questioning him and we hope that the Movement for Socialism can help us because the Movement for Socialism is in the Provincial Assembly There is a majority, but our group of five councilors will submit a petition for an oral report on this topic,” said Israel Alanoca, councilor for the department.
He pointed out that the authorities in La Paz received about 22 million bolivianos to deal with drought, floods and fires, but that it only served some cities and not northern La Paz, particularly Madidi Park. With the approval of the department’s councilors, 60 cities were affected.
“Nine million Bolivians have been approved, in addition to the 13 million Bolivians in the plan he requested in the disaster plan submitted with the decree, that is, in addition to all these facilities, the provision exceeds “You can directly sign contract,” he said.
